Red Planet
by Jorus C'baoth
Summary: A crossover between Red Faction and Doom 3. Parker is an Ultor miner, John Kane is a UAC marine. As the Red Faction revolts against Ultor's oppression, the UAC has to fight the demons of Hell. We've played these games separately, now they come together.
1. Author's Introduction

_**Author's Introduction**_

This says "Author's Introduction" because I have a second introduction coming next ("What Has Come Before"). It is solely a timeline concerning the beginnings of this story. But first, I'll get to the basics.

This is a crossover between _Doom 3_ and the first _Red Faction_.

These are two games that I absolutely adore. _Red Faction_ was the first post-2000 PC game that I didn't stop playing (must have beaten it 12 times in a week). _Doom 3_ was, is and will always be the best PC-to-Xbox game I've ever played (and, quite possibly, the best Xbox game I've ever played; hate me all you like, I despised _Halo_ and I always fucking will).

These two games have influenced any sci-fi story I've ever written, and I always seem to run any sci-fi story I've ever read though a filter to see them either like _Red Faction_ or _Doom 3_ (and to some extent the original _Doom_, but I won't get into that). I've never really been the same ever since, and I'm not sorry about that.

Anybody who reads _Doom_ fanfics on this site will know I've got a little two chapter (three with a short message) fanfiction called _The DOOM Chronicles: The Ultimate DOOM_, which is a straight adaptation of _The Ultimate Doom_. I have, to a small extent, abandoned that story (a come-back is imminent, however), and replaced it with this one.

This, however, is _not_ a straight adaptation of either _Doom 3_ or _Red Faction_. This is a combination of the two.

I was playing _Doom 3_ when this idea bombarded me. I felt like a goddamn idiot for not taking into account that both _Doom 3_ and _Red Faction_ took place on Mars. Both took place in installations and in tunnels. Both involved trams to a small degree. Both were similar in many respects. And as I saw the similarities, I saw the connections that could be made.

Little reason exists for why, in _Red Faction_, the miners are treated like shit. All that really comes of it is that Capek wants to use them as fodder to test out his little science experiments. In _Doom 3_, you never get a sense of the paranoia and fear that comes from the impending invasion of the demons (I think you're supposed to believe that anybody driven crazy by it died as it happened, but that's a flimsy excuse). A solution became simple to me: the Ultor guards use the paranoia and fear of the miners (caused by the impending invasion) to manipulate and oppress them. In order for it to make sense as why Ultor and the UAC are both on Mars, I decided that the two banded together to colonize Mars; the UAC terraforming it, while Ultor mined it for natural resourses for use on Earth. UAC would also be the initial security for the Ultor miners (explaining why the DoomGuy is in the mines early on), but then Ultor started shipping up its own guards and the UACs slowly returned to Mars City.

After this initial brainstorm and idea-forming, several other things started coming into play and easily linking up:

1. Early on in _Red Faction_, some miners use a shuttle to try and leave, but get shot down. The crossover gives control of those missiles to the demons, who are trying to avoid any escape of the humans and any help from Earth from arriving, after Parker and DoomGuy shut down the missiles, Betruger decides that using the ships to invade Earth would be far better than destroying them.

2. Capek somehow genetically manipulates people to create monsters in _Red Faction_. With help from Betruger (ie, demon parts), Capek accomplishes this.

(Note: So far it seems like this, but most of this crossover material is _not_ to explain plot-holish elements of _Red Faction_ by using _Doom 3_.)

3. Ultor dug the Mars City tunnels and aided in the construction of the complex. They also discovered the teleporters that are used to go to Hell.

There are other connections that I've thought up, but I'd rather not bore you the fuck out with them. All in all, this fanfic has been thought out and will cover most if not all of both _Doom 3_ and _Red Faction_ (starting primarily with stuff from _Red Faction_, and ending with portions of _Doom 3_).

Hopefully, you enjoy this hard work that I've done to entertain you with a crossover (the first I've ever done!), and know that, unlike every other story I've written, I've gone over everything with a fine-toothed comb. I'm damned certain that no matter what, I'm gonna have typos (it doesn't matter how much I spell-check this shit, they still keep coming!), and maybe even a plot hole or two, but overall, everything is accounted for.

Please enjoy, leave reviews.


	2. Introduction  What Has Come Before

_**Introduction** – What Has Come Before_

_**The Ultor Corporation**_: Based in Stillwater, first to propose Mars colonization project.

_**Union Aerospace Corporation**_: Based in Palo Alto, California, created the first means of interstellar travel.

_**Sixteen years ago**_: Ultor proposes Mars colonization project. Two years later, it would be approved with the help of the UAC. Ultor would handle the colonization, then UAC would begin terraforming the planet.

_**Fourteen years ago**_: Mars colonization project approved.

_**Thirteen years ago**_: Ultor and UAC teams arrive on Mars and begin digging tunnels for the UAC's Mars City project. The project reaches completion three years later.

_**Ten years ago**_: Mars City is completed. Ultor's mining team is sent across Mars to create a new colony, known as Terra.

_**Five years ago**_: Terra—a much larger undertaking than Mars City—is completed. It involves a colony spreading throughout the Tharsis region of Mars. Some remaining Ultor digging teams find Martian ruins underneath Mars City.

_**Two years ago**_: Dr. Malcom Betruger, UAC, discovers a device in the Martian ruins. It is called U1 by the scientists, but due to translations from the ruins, they begin calling it the Soul Cube.

_**Ten months ago**_: Dr. Betruger, with the help of Dr. Capek of Ultor, designs a teleportation device capable of travel between two devices.

_**Three months ago**_: Odd creatures begin to appear to miners, security guards, scientists and all personel stationed on Mars. This occurs directly after a trip through the teleporters to what is classified as another dimension. Ultor Security uses this to oppress the miners, forcing them to work harder and leading some to suicide.

_**Two months ago**_: A miner named Eos begins preparations to revolt against Ultor Security, as all of her attempts at stopping their oppression by communicating with Ultor's executives have failed. Dr. Capek is given strange genetic material by Dr. Betruger. He uses it for experiments.

_**Six weeks ago**_: Eos and her second in command, Orion, begin stocking up on weapons and equipment for their upcoming revolt.

_**Three weeks ago**_: Dr. Betruger goes on another trip to the alternate dimension. He comes back changed.

_**Two weeks ago**_: Parker, an Ultor miner, arrives on Mars. He is assigned to Mine M-4. John Kane, a UAC marine, also arrives. He is assigned to the Ultor mines due to a shortage of security guards.

_**One week ago**_: Eos and Orion speak with every miner, giving them the details about the upcoming revolt.


	3. Chapter 1  Problems in the Mine

_**Chapter One** – Problems in the Mine_

**Mine M-4 11.15.2145 0250 hrs**

Parker swung his pickaxe once more, creating one more spike-shaped dent in the rock. Every single day he did it, it got harder. Far too many things in the mine got harder to deal with. Luckily, this time, he was paired with a far less assholey guard by the name of John Kane. Kane was UAC, not Ultor. That was probably part of the reason he was less assholey than the Ultor guards.

"Mine M-4, shift change," the emotionless PA stated, not even shouting.

Parker dug his pickaxe into the red rock and stood there, catching his breath. Kane laughed. _Put it aside, Park... Put it aside. He's just a guard. Even the UAC marines are dicks when you get right down to them._ He shoved the thought aside. Kane was a good man. He knew that from the word of other miners. "What's so funny?" he asked him.

"Nothin'. Just never realized being a security guard's a way easier job than being a miner."

Parker laughed at that. "What's so hard about being a security guard?"

"Those Ultor guards. I've got to deal with so much of their shit, I'm about to start asking for locker room pay." They both laughed after that.

**Ultor HQ 11.15.2145 0253 hrs**

Colonel Masako watched the mines through the cameras. UAC Security had set up an impresive camera system that could see every single part of the mines. She watched every one of the miners and the guards. They were all going through the motions.

Very normal. Very boring.

She didn't understand why she was called there. If the miners were going to revolt, why hadn't they done it yet? Why were they all doing their jobs? And why couldn't Ultor Security take care of it themselves? At the very least, they could request help from the UAC. Mars City was a hell of a lot closer than Orlando, Florida.

"Colonel Masako?" a voice behind her asked. She turned around and saw Master Sergeant Thomas Kelly standing there. UAC Security's commander. He couldn't even make it past Master Sergeant. "I've been asked by Deputy Administrator Griffin to oversee all of the currently remaining Mars City security personel in the Ultor Mines."

"Nice of you to leave your lofty post from Mars City and come all the way out here. How _is_ everything at the UAC's technical marvel?"

Kelly scowled. He clearly didn't like hearing her badmouth his area of jurisdiction. "Fine. My men are Tobias, Ford, Ward and Kane."

"Only four UAC marines in the mines?" She laughed. "I hope they haven't lost their way, yet."

**Delta Labs, Mars City 11.15.2145 0259 hrs**

Malcom Betruger was surprised to see Capek standing his labs when he arrived. Beside him were Councilor Elliot Swann and Lieutenant Jack Campbell. They seemed to be having a conversation. "Gentlemen? Why are you here?"

Campbell remained quiet. Swann said, "Dr. Capek was already here when we arrived. Mr. Kelliher asked us to come speak with you, but it can wait until the good doctor here is finished." He turned to Campbell. "We can wait in the other room." Campbell only grunted in response. Betruger thought it was disgusting.

The lawyer and the Lieutenant left the room, and shut the door behind them. Betruger and Capek could finally get down to business. "What is it, Dr. Capek?" he asked as he sat on the chair beside the examination table set up. "I'm a very busy man, you know."

Capek nodded. "That you are, Malcom. What is it, exactly, that takes up so much of your time?"

Betruger glared. "I'm not sure that's of any importance to _you_."

"Of course not. I'm really here because my superiors are a little concerned as to where you're procuring the materials you have given me for the experiments."

His stare continued. "I'm not sure that's of any importance to _them_. The other dimension is not their jurisdiction. It currently belongs to the UAC."

Capek shook his head. "Another dimension belongs to no company, state or country. The UAC cannot simply _patent_ Hell, Malcom."

Betruger smiled. "The UAC can do many things. If it weren't for us, Ultor wouldn't even be _on_ Mars." He stood up and walked over to Capek. "Look, my friend, just keep watching. Today, amazing things will happen here. Just wait and see."

**Mine M-4 11.15.2145 0317 hrs**

Kane and Parker continued to talk until they came to a junction between Mines M-4, M-7 and M-13. A miner and a guard were arguing by the tunnel that led to M-13. Parker didn't like it. The guards had started doing this ever since the miners first reported that they were having strange nightmares. Harrassment was common now.

The miner said, "Get out of my way, it's been a long day."

"It's about to get a little _longer_, mine scum."

"Just let me go, or else?"

The guard poked the miner in the chest. "You _threatening_ me? Threaten _this_!" he shouted as he dug his stun baton into the miner's stomach, electrocuting him. "Stupid son of a bitch!"

Kane rushed over to the guard. "What the hell's the matter with you?" He pulled the guard off of the miner. "Your job isn't to beat the shit out some guy who just worked his ass off for twelve hours!"

The guard pushed Kane off of him. He took the baton and jammed into Kane's face. Parker had had enough. He walked over to the guard, pulled the baton out of his hand and shoved it into the guard's neck. It passed through his windpipe and directly out the back of his neck. The guard fell backwards, blood flew up when he hit the ground.

Kane stood up, covering his wound. A little blood was dripping from it, but it didn't look serious. He took the baton out of the guard's neck and threw it off to the side. He looked directly at Parker. "Self-defense. That's what you claim."

"They'll never believe that," the miner they'd saved said. "There are cameras all around these mines."

Kane turned to him. "I don't see any here. I'll back it up. My wound's not bad, so they'll probably believe me if I say the baton flew off and hit me while I tried to stop you."

Parker asked, "And the hole in his neck?"

Kane nodded. "You're right. I'll say you jammed it in, then threw it back after pulling it out again. I just hope they buy that part." A beeping noise resounded throughout the junction. Kane reached around and pulled out a radio. "Go for Kane," he said.

"_Kane, this is Sergeant Kelly, I need you to get up here to Ultor Sec immediately, we're headed back to Mars City, over."_

"Uh, Sarge, can I catch up? I just got involved in a little skirmish between a couple of miners and an Ultor Sec guard, just a little self-defense brawl. Sorry to say the Ultor guard was killed. Tell Colonel Masako she needs to get a clean-up crew down here at Junction T-9, this is kinda bloody, over."

"_Roger that, Kane. Clean-up team is en route, should be there in a matter of moments. Have the miners report directly to their barracks and you get to Mars City ASAP, over."_

"Roger, Sarge. Kane out." He turned to the two miners. "You heard the man, get to your barracks."

Parker nodded. "Thanks, Kane."

"You can call me John. What can I call you, Parker?"

"You don't wanna know. Parker'll do just fine."

Kane shrugged. "Whatever you say, man."

The three departed. Parker and the other miner—Orion, his name was—followed their orders and returned to the miner barracks. As they walked through the barracks, something struck Parker as odd. None of the miners were doing anything they regularly did. Most were just sitting in their bunks, doing absolutely nothing.

"Jesus," Parker said, "this place is so damn quiet I wanna drop a bomb in here, or something."

Orion laughed. "That's not far off, my friend."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You haven't heard of the Red Faction?"

"The Red Faction? Wasn't that some kind of Communist party back in the twentieth century?"

Orion grabbed a tugged on a piece of Parker's jumpsuit. "What color's your suit? What color is _all_ of our stuff? Red. We're going to revolt against these damn guards and get Ultor to listen to _our_ side of the story."

"About what?"

"You haven't been having weird nightmares? Seeing weird shit in the mines?"

Parker sighed. He _had_ been having nightmares. Nightmares involving odd biomechanical monsters, usually ripping his flesh apart piece by piece. "What the hell do the guards have to do with that?"

"They haven't been jacking you around because of them? They've been doing it to everybody else here. What do you think that guard was dicking with me for? I haven't slept in days, and that bastard just wanted to make it worse."

Parker sighed again. "Sounds like high school. Bullies picking on the kids that _really_ do the work."

Orion smiled. "Yeah, only now the working kids are gonna fight back."

**Infirmary 11.15.2145 0332 hrs**

Kane didn't understand why the doc needed him to take his shirt off when he'd been jabbed and electrocuted on his left cheek. Of course, the doc herself was pretty easy on the eyes. He'd been in the marines long enough to practically _need_ some sexual release before his equipment stopped working. "This gonna take long?" he asked her. "I've gotta be back at Mars City, otherwise my sergeant's gonna try and rip my balls off."

She smiled. "My my, marines certainly _do_ have a way with words."

Kane laughed. "Yeah. Can't you just give me a stimpak and let me go?"

"Not quite. You've got a couple of broken ribs, too."

"How the hell can you tell that by looking at my face?"

She looked down at him. "I could tell because I had to shove you in that bed, remember?"

"Then, you broke my ribs?"

"Quiet, Private."

"Yes, sir." Kane smiled. She did as well. "John Kane. You?"

She pulled her hair away from her face. "Cecily Anabelle Gordon."

"Cecily Anabelle Gordon? You always introduce yourself with your full name?"

She smiled again. "Just to certain people."

Kane chucked. He liked where this was going. Maybe he'd get some release after all.

**Mine M-6 11.15.2145 0339 hrs**

The miner got to the minimum safe distance and picked up the detonator. He knew it was going to be close. Eos wanted the bomb to go off in six minutes. Exactly three forty-five am. _This is it. This is what makes me or breaks me._ He counted down the seconds along with his timer. It was going to be a spectacular show.

Only six minutes left until three forty-five.

**Miner barracks 11.15.2145 0342 hrs**

Parker was nervous. He'd killed a security guard. He'd been involved in a three-man cover-up related to the death of that security guard. Now (in three minutes, according to Orion), he was going to be involved in a colony-wide revolt against Ultor Security—practically against Ultor itself.

"You ready, Parker?"

Parker looked over at Orion. "Ready? I've practically shit my pants already."

**Ultor HQ 11.15.2145 0343 hrs**

Masako still stood at the monitors. She was watching one in particular. She turned to the tech behind her. "What's that miner doing in M-6?"

He shook his head. "Not sure, ma'am."

**Mine M-6 11.15.2145 0334 hrs**

One minute left. That was all. Less than one minute, in fact. 29 seconds. The miner's breath was growing erratic. He almost wanted to press it now. 20 seconds. Not much longer now. 15 seconds. Only 15 seconds left. No, now 9. 9 seconds. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2...

**11.15.2145 0345 hrs**

**Mine M-6**

The miner pressed the button on schedule.

**Infirmary**

All around Kane and Cecily, the ground shook. The lights dimmed for a moment and the medical bot shut off entirely. Kane and Cecily both looked up at the same time, but Cecily was the first to speak. She was somewhat out of breath. "What the fuck was that?" she asked.

Kane just looked at her and said, "You say _I_ have a way with words?"

**Ultor HQ**

Masako braced herself as the room shook violently. She was almost certain Mars City could feel the explosion. However much high explosive that miner had put in the mines, the entire colony of Terra must have been hit. She turned back at the tech. "I want all sec guards to be ready _now!_"

**Miner barracks**

Parker grabbed a hold of the bunk as a part of the ground sunk in underneath them. Luckily, the room didn't depressurize or anything, so they still had plenty of air. Orion and Eos had certain planned this through.

**Mine M-4**

One cave in Mine M-4 was untouched and unknown to the guards. It was in this cave that the miner called only Eos resided the entire day. She picked up her assault rifle and slammed a magazine home. After that, she picked up her comm set and said, "Miners, this is Eos. The time has come for us to strike back against Ultor!"


	4. Chapter 2  Viva la Revolution

_**Chapter Two** – Viva la Revolution_

**Infrimary 11.15.2145 0350 hrs**

Kane scrambled to get his pants back on as alarms blared all over Terra. Colonel Masako was shouting over the PA for all security guards to get suited up and armed. Miners were revolting all across the colony.

"The place is going insane," Cecily said, covering herself with the bed sheet.

"Insane ain't half right," Kane said, his voice muffled by his shirt going over his head. "This place'll be batshit by the time I get to the checkpoint and get myself armed."

"Why are you going to the checkpoint?"

"I'm still security. Ultor or UAC, doesn't matter. Plus, I've got to try and stop what I can. Some of those miners are my friends, and I don't want them to get killed."

She nodded. It was only slight. Kane could tell, she probably had patched some of the miners up that Ultor sec had torn apart with their stun batons. God only knew what they'd do with 12-mm pistols, with shotguns or with the mini flamethrowers he'd seen packed away in the armory. Those miners would be ripped to pieces.

He grabbed his kevlar and swung it around his chest. Cecily was right about his broken ribs. He could definitely feel them now. He turned to her before leaving. "You should probably get dressed. I got a feeling you're gonna be busy as hell in less than five minutes." After that, he turned and walked out the door.

**Ultor HQ 11.15.2145 0354 hrs**

Masako looked over the datapad she'd been handed by Major Sarenkov. "You're sure this Eos woman is serious about these demands?" she asked the major.

She was greeted by his thick Russian accent. "Certainly. These miners have been bringing this to our attention for weeks now. The repeaters get sent to Capek while the ones who only bitch once get sent back to their barracks."

She shook her head. "Goddamn miners. They get paid to dig, not sleep. What's it matter to them if they have nightmares and get bullied by the guards. This certainly wasn't something to go to war over."

"Of course, ma'am. Shall I round up Briggs and Hauser and take a team myself?"

She handed him the datapad back. "No. This is between the miners and Ultor sec, not us. We're just here to run damage control."

Sarenkov nodded, then turned and left. Masako turned back to the monitors. The miners were certainly doing a commendable job. Some had managed to get their hands on some real weaponry besides standard miner pickaxes, hammers and jackhammers. Two or three in M-8 had gotten ahold of shotguns. _They just might be able to get what they want by force. Who knows? Maybe in forty or fifty years, Mars'll be ruled by the Red Faction._

She seriously doubted it.

**Miner Barracks 11.15.2145 0401 hrs**

Parker had stayed behind when everybody else had gone out to revolt. He didn't want to be involved. It was bad enough that he'd killed a security guard, now to rush out there and probably get _himself_ killed, it was almost insane.

"The hell are you doing, Parker?" a miner rushing by the door shouted. Parker ignored him. He wanted no part of it all.

**Ultor HQ 11.15.2145 0408 hrs**

Masako almost wished for popcorn as she watched the two groups kill one another. In another part of the facility—Geo Thermal Plant no. 4—a group of miners was systematically slaughtering an entire plant full of techs and Ultor sec. She hadn't seen entertainment better than this since the skirmish in Kefiristan back in '38.

The screen beside her beeped. She sighed and turned to it. It was Dr. Betruger of the UAC. _"Colonel Masako. How goes things?"_

"Dr. Capek isn't here, Doctor, and personally, I don't give a shit. Your little science project can wait until after we've dealt with this goddamn revolt."

Betruger frowned. _"Revolt? Anyway, I'm not calling for Dr. Capek. I'm in need of a technician. The last one I was able to borrow from the Alpha Labs shot himself last night."_

"Sure, we've only got about a billion here," Masako said, sarcastically. "I'll send one over in a little while, on one condition: you get Sergeant Kelly to send _me_ some of his marines. I'd like to see what they can do to these little piddly-shit miners."

He smiled. _"I'll see what I can do. Thank you, Colonel Masako."_

**Ultor tech division 11.15.2145 0412 hrs**

Hendrix could not believe what he'd been watching on the monitors. The miners were revolting, and the guards were slaughtering them. It was like watching an old war vid from the twenty-first century. It was insane.

He was about to shut the mine monitors off when suddenly, Colonel Masako's face appeared on one of them. _"Technician Hendrix?"_

"Yes, ma'am?"

"_I need you to get on the next tram for Mars City. Dr. Betruger needs a tech and you don't seem to be doing anything of extreme importance right now."_

"Of course, ma'am. I'll leave immediately."

"_Good. I'd rather not see your skinny ass back here anytime soon, but those decisions aren't up to me. Get out of here."_

The 'good' colonel's face disappeared from the monitor and Hendrix was glad for it. He hated talking to that woman. She was spiteful, mean and probably the closest thing to an icon of sin on Mars. He'd much rather talk to Dr. Capek than that bitch.

Picking up his gear, Hendrix shut down the computer terminals. Technician Felix would be on duty in close to an hour, so nothing would be down for long if at all. Most of Terra was run through the central computer, which was very largely autonomous. Mars City was much the same.

As he pressed the button for the tram floor, he wondered why it was Ultor and the UAC kept shopping people around. The two companies were basically rivals, yet each used the others' employees for various reasons. UAC used Ultor techs and miners for whatever they needed, and Ultor used UAC's famous Dr. Betruger and any marines they need as security guards. It was a lucky thing, for both companies, that the government wouldn't approve the Mars Colonization Project without the companies signing forms to share the planet. Neither the UAC nor Ultor could run Mars on their own.

The elevator stopped, yet the doors didn't open. Hendrix pushed the open button three or four times, but nothing happened. _C'mon... I don't wanna be late!_ He tapped the button again. This time, the image on the screen changed. A pentagram of fire appeared where there were normally floor options. On odd red glow seeped through the crack between the elevator doors.

Then, suddenly, as instantly as it arrived, it disappeared. Everything in the elevator was normal. The doors opened as they were supposed to into the tram station.

"What the hell?" he said aloud, unaware he'd even spoken.

**Miner barracks 11.15.2145 0431 hrs**

Parker looked at the clock. Fifteen minutes away from the one hour mark on Eos' little revolution. He was starting to wonder if any of it would calm down. The gunshots and screams were receeding from the barracks, however. Hopefully they'd end entirely eventually.

The barracks themselves were insanely quiet. He was the only miner in the entire complex, it seemed, and probably the only person at all. The guards had probably all been called to take care of the miners assaulting the colony. He sighed. All those people losing their lives for a cause that probably wouldn't even help.

The sound of a shotgun blast came from somewhere outside Parker's room. He sat up from his lying position and waited to see if it repeated. Maybe he wasn't the only miner in the barracks after all. Another shotgun blast. This time, closer. He stood up, now, and slowly walked toward the door. As soon as he got there, he put his back to the wall next to it. The door opened now. A guard in riot gear walked in, carrying a standard Ultor automatic shotgun.

Parker acted on instinct. He grabbed the guard from behind and put his arms around the man's throat. He struggled, elbowing Parker in the gut, but Parker didn't let go. The shotgun fell to the floor beside them just as the guard kicked away from him.

"Stupid fucking miner!"

Again, it was pure instinct that made Parker pick up the shotgun and fire, splintering the guard's legs. Blood splattered against the walls and the bunks, and the guard fell to what was left of his knees. His helmet fell off when he hit the ground. He looked up at Parker with a blood filled snarl. His eyes looked as though they were lit with fire.

Parker didn't stay. He held onto the shotgun and ran out of the room. He didn't want to be, but it almost seemed like he was going to be thrust into the conflict after all.

**Mine M-2 11.15.2145 0440 hrs**

Kane hadn't killed a single miner, and he was damned glad for it. The Ultor guards, on the other hand, had done an insane amount of killing. He had to asume there were close to six million miners underneath or around Terra, maybe another thousand or so working on Mars City across the planet. Close to three hundred had died in Mine M-2 alone. _All this because some stupid fucking guards couldn't keep their goddamn chuckles reserved for a movie or sitcom or something. Jesus Christ... I wonder how many people Cecily's had to deal with so far._

He didn't dwell on it. Instead, he picked up his assigned assault rifle and just walked around. The corpses of the miners left quite a twisty path through the mines. The guards weren't even trying to leave any alive. They were having fun killing these miners.

"Yo, Kane!" someone shouted. He turned around to see an Ultor guard by the name of Johannes running up to him. "What the hell are you still doing here? I heard the UAC guys got trammed back to Mars City earlier."

Kane pointed to the scar on his cheek. "Got this in a little self-defense scuffle down in the Junction. Had to stay behind and get some bedside manner."

"Some bedside manner, huh? So how was Dr. Gordon, anyway?"

"Broken ribs."

"Huh?"

Kane shook his head. "I'll tell you some other time. Any word on this letting up anywhere?"

"Nah. Damn miners are persistant, I'll tell you that much. How many you killed so far? I've got thirty-three."

"None. I'm not killing a bunch of guys who are just getting back at the guards for harrassing them."

"C'mon, man, they're just _miners_. Nobody gives a fuck about miners."

Kane shoved Johannes into the wall. "Nobody on Earth gives a fuck about anybody on Mars, Johannes. We've got to give a fuck about ourselves, otherwise we're in for years of Red Factions and this sort of shit." He let go of Johannes' shoulder and sighed. "Give my fucking arm to be down on Earth with Cecily right now."

Johannes looked confused. "Who's Cecily?"

**Delta Labs, Mars City 11.15.2145 0447 hrs**

Hendrix had arrived at Mars City and was instantly ushered to Delta Labs by Master Sergeant Kelly the moment he got there. A stern-looking scientist with a solid white left eye greeted him with, "How well can you run a teleporter terminal?" Hendrix knew who this was: Dr. Malcom Betruger.

"Um, yes, sir," he stammered out. "I was there when you and Dr. Capek designed the output drive, and I was the one who suggested using less than fifty-one gigawatts for the initial activation and start up."

Betruger smiled and nodded his head. "So you were. Hendrix, was it? Does Ultor take away your first names or do you toss them aside by choice?" He walked over to the terminal. "Sit here and do as your told. This'll all be happening soon."

**Infirmary 11.15.2145 0453 hrs**

Cecily had never worked as fast in her life. The sheer amount of injured miners and guards coming in was overwhelming. Few had lived past the make-shift operating table they'd had to set up in the lobby outside the infirmary. Even less had come in with more than a few seconds remaining.

"Great, I go to med school to become a standard physician, I end up being a combat medic."

She was unaware that the nurse beside her had heard her speak. "Maybe you should ask for some vacation time," he said.

"Maybe I should ask for raise. This stuff is well above what I'm getting paid now."

"I didn't know we were still getting paid. Not like we've got a damn place to spend it outside of a few Thirsty Burst or Robo-Cola machines."

Another nurse said, "Don't forget the Super Turbo Turkey Puncher games down by the cafeteria."

Cecily said, "Yeah, like I wanna go spend my not-so-hard-earned cash punching a turkey for six hours straight."

"Some guy from the UAC set the record. Thirty thousand points. Name of Kane, or something. He's a marine."

_John..._ Cecily thought. _God, I can't believe he'd waste his time like that._

**Miner Barracks 11.15.2145 0459 hrs**

Five o'clock in the morning was just a minute away as Parker put his helmet on before opening the airlock door. He couldn't believe he was even going to go outside. He'd be mistaken for a Faction member as soon as a guard spotted him. Not to mention the fact that he was carrying a shotgun around with him.

He opened the airlock and a rush of wind swept into the small room. A dead miner lay on the ground before his feet. His helmet torn off. Parker knelt down next to the body and took a look at the poor bastard. There were claw marks on his face, as if the helmet had been ripped off of him by a wild animal, or something.

He turned the corpse over, so no one else had to see it. He hoped he never ran into the thing that made that. Maybe there _were_ little green men after all. Maybe they had claws.

**Miner Barracks 11.15.2145 0508 hrs**

Kane walked through the empty halls of the miner barracks wondering how many were still inside. Miners too afraid to die, so they stayed inside to avoid the fighting. That was commendable. If he were a miner, he wouldn't want to be out on the fields of Mars swapping bullets with some dumbass guard that just wanted him dead. Kane had almost shot Johannes after his outburst that "they're just _miners_". Ultor was hiring some pretty cold-hearted people.

A dead guard was lying face down on the sunken in floor of one of the miner's bunk rooms. His legs were practically destroyed by a close-range shotgun blast, and blood was splattered all over the room. From the looks of it all, he'd only been dead a half an hour at most.

_Who did you in, buddy?_ he thought, _Who took your shotgun and shot your legs out from under you?_

He checked the name plates on the footlockers set in a corner of the room. One in particular stood out at him:

Parker.

_Does this guy even have a first name?_

**Ultor HQ 11.15.2145 0511 hrs**

Masako wasn't happy. There was no way she could be. All of it was taken away from her. Not one single part of the mines was visible to her anymore. All of the images on the monitor were replaced by flaming pentagrams. None of the doors leading out from the command center worked. She was stuck in the room with three techs and absolutely _no_ entertainment.

"Get these goddamn screens working _now_, Technician Armitage!"

"I'm trying, ma'am, but _nothing_ is working right now. I can't even get our personal comms units to work."

"Keep trying, dammit!"

**Delta Labs, Mars City 11.15.2145 0518 hrs**

Hendrix watched as seven marines entered the room, all geared up and armed, like they were going to fight a war. The sight of the submachine guns they carried almost made him weak. He'd never seen a weapon such as that up close before.

"Sergeant Kelly," Dr. Betruger said, walking over to the marine. "I hope your men are up to the challenge of our new dimension."

Kelly simply grunted.

"Please, sergeant, why the dour expression? We're about to make history in so much more a way than Mars City already has. You will be a legend, and a hero. I as well." He turned to the seven marines "As will all of you." The marines 'uha'd in acknowledgment. He turned to Hendrix. "Mr. Hendrix, let's begin!"

**Outside Delta 11.15.2145 0521 hrs**

Swann watched as Betruger's little science experiment started. Campbell was off to the side, keeping his case handy. Swann didn't even know what he had in there. Throughout the five years they'd worked together and built their friendship, he'd never told Swann what was in his case. All he'd ever say was, "If it's necessary, you'll see it."

Campbell looked over at him. "What's the matter, Elliot?"

Swann shook his head. "He never even spoke to us after that Capek fool left for Terra. He has no right ignoring us."

Campbell shrugged. "Betruger is Betruger. He's always been an asshole. Whatever the hell's changed him so much that he's not just an asshole to _us_, but to Kelliher as well... I don't know."

"He's a problem, Jack. A _big_ problem."

**Delta Labs, Mars City 11.15.2145 0526 hrs**

"We're about to make _history_ people!" Betruger shouted. He stood in front of the teleporter. "Many of you have wondered what this expedition is about. After all, we've sent dozens of people through the teleporter to the other dimension. _This time_, however, we're not just going to _visit_ the other dimension, we're going to _colonize_ it."

Hendrix couldn't believe what he was hearing. The two colonies already set up on Mars weren't yet truly finished, and a colony in another dimension was already going to be set up? It was crazy.

"I've been given authorization by CEO Kelliher to set up a new colony inside the other dimension. These marines are going to be sent in first, to take care of any odd resistance on the other side, and once this absurd revolution at the Ultor complex is over with, miners shall be sent to begin setting up the buildings."

He watched as Betruger stepped back from the teleporter and came around behind him. "Mr. Hendrix, please activate the teleporter. Then, the fun can _truly_ begin."

Hendrix pressed a couple of buttons. He wondered why exactly they needed a technician to do this. It was so simple one of the marines could do it. One button to activate the teleporter, the other to activate the teleporter at the destination. As soon as one was up, the other would receive a slight power charger, meaning that even though no cables were going through to the alternate dimension, the pad on the other side would still read that it would be active.

He wondered how they got a pad to the other side in the first place. The teleporters required two pads to work, and yet somehow, the first team sent in was able to come back as if they were using a teleporter. It was rather odd.

The engines inside the teleporter began to hum. A yellow light emanated from the middle of two large discs on either side of the pad. Two swirling balls of energy floated around the yellow light, criss-crossing paths and once or twice becoming one. Hendrix thought it was beautiful and frightening at the same time. Such a simple thing as that could send someone from one place to another in less than ten seconds.

The marines walked forward, one-by-one. They each stepped on the platform and disintigrated into the swirling balls, which were growing more and more by the second. The teleporter shut down when the last marine was transferred to the other dimension.

Betruger turned to the group in audience and said, "Now we wait until they make contact. I assure you, it won't be long."

**Outside the miner barracks 11.15.2145 0533**

Parker scratched his helmet, thinking he get through it to the itch on his head but finding himself unsuccessful, and stared out at the expanse of the Tharsis region of Mars. His suit had enough air to last him the hour long hike to Terra, where he could possibly ask for transport either to Mars City or possibly even a shuttle to Earth.

"Miner!" a voice shouted behind him. Parker raised his hands and dropped the shotgun to the ground. "Turn around and tell me who you are!" He did as he was told and saw someone that outright shocked him. John Kane lowered his assault rifle and smiled. "Goddamn, Parker, I thought you'd been shot."

"No. I had to take down a guard that tried to, though. Blew out—"

Kane finished for him, "His knees."

"You found him?"

"He died from blood loss."

"You kill anybody since this started?"

"I've been damned close to killing nine or ten guards who just wanna blow your asses to kingdom come. These fuckers wouldn't know 'humanity' if it came and sucked 'em off."

Parker shrugged. "I didn't want to be caught up in all of this."

"I can't blame you. I don't wanna be caught up in all this, either. Fucking guards brought this down on themselves, dicking with the miners the way they have been."

"So, what? We gonna hike it to Terra and get out of here?"

"Well, we're gonna hike it to Terra. I want to go help Cecily."

"Cecily?" The name sounded familiar. It took a few minutes before it came to him. "Cecily Gordon? The doctor?"

"Yeah." Parker laughed. Kane frowned. "What?"

He didn't stop laughing, "Got a little crush on Doc Gordon, Kane?"

"Not even gonna dignify that with a response, Parker."


	5. Chapter 3 Horror in Paradise

_**Chapter Three**__**–**__ Horror in 'Paradise'_

**Ultor HQ 11.15.2145 0540 hrs**

Masako wanted to strangle Technician Armitage more than anything in the world. Or, well, more than anything on Earth. She'd love to strangle about a thousand or so miners on Mars, right now. She'd do it herself, too. She'd go and rip every one of their throats out with her bare hands.

Armitage was busy trying to get the monitors back on, but he wasn't succeeding at all. "Are you going to be finished with that any time soon, Armitage?" Masako asked. "I'd like to see the slaughter before it ends."

"This is difficult to explain, ma'am... the monitors aren't down, and the cameras aren't down. There's just no connection between them."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I said it was difficult to explain. I'm gonna try to bypass it."

Masako sat down and sighed. "Just do it quickly. Dr. Capek is probably waiting for me in his apartment."

**Delta Labs, Mars City 11.15.2145 0545 hrs**

Hendrix watched the teleporter closely. It had been twenty minutes and nothing had happened yet. Dr. Betruger was just standing there, doing nothing. He wondered when exactly anything would happen. He looked down at the monitors and saw things flash by on the screen. Strange symbols, strange faces.

A pentagram of fire.

"Dr. Betruger?" he asked.

"Everything is fine, Technician Hendrix."

"But, sir?"

"Everything is _fine_, Mr. Hendrix," Betruger said through gritted teeth, staring at him.

"Are you sure, doctor?" Sergeant Kelly asked.

"I'm positive, Sergeant." He smiled. "Everything is absolutely fine."

Suddenly the alarms began blaring. Red text boxes appeared on every one of the montiors in front of Hendrix. On a screen that displayed a diagram of the teleporter, a box containing the words _Incoming Wormhole_ appeared. The teleporter activated at once, and a dozen marines entered the room and surrounded it. "Shoot anything that comes through that teleporter!" Kelly shouted.

Betruger walked in front of the teleporter, blocking it from the marines. "I don't think so, Sergeant. Everything is going according to plan."

"To _who's_ plan, doctor?"

"_Mine_, of course." He laughed. "I've been implimenting it for months, now."

Something walked through the teleporter. It was about six feet tall, somewhat skinny. It had ten eyes all over its head, and its skin was brown. It pulled its head back and screeched, and six more walked through the teleporter. They walked around Betruger, and, in unison, pulled their hands back. A ball of fire appeared in each hand, and, also in unison, threw the fireballs at the twelve marines surrounding them.

Betruger continued laughing. "Go forth, my children! This planet is yours!"

Hendrix didn't even think. He just ducked behind his console. Tears were streaking down his face as he whimpered in fear.

**Outside Delta 11.15.2145 0557 hrs**

Campbell shut the door as the fireballs started flying. He grabbed his case and waved Swann toward the exit. "Go, goddamnit, go!" Swann stumbled through the exit and somehow got enough energy to jump over the reception desk in front of him. He ducked down behind the desk and curled up into a ball. Campbell scrambled around to his side and started unlatching his case. "It's necessary. Time to see it." He opened the case fully and there, sitting in all its military 'big gun' splendor, was a BFG-9000. Its official moniker was "Bio-Force Gun", having something to do with the firing mechanisim not responding unless the weapon was fully attached to the user's arm; however, nearly everyone who used it just called it a big fucking gun.

"You've been carrying one of those with you for five years?"

"Ten, actually."

"Jesus Christ."

"Keep down, I'm gonna pop off a round," Campbell said, standing up. He had the rig fully attached to his arm and he held it straight ahead, at the door they'd come from. Several of the creatures were banging against it. "Bye bye, birdie." He squeezed the trigger and a burst of green light shot out of the weapon's plasma chamber. A single BFG cell contained five rounds, which could be fired either as five short bursts or one large burst. The enormity of the shot that hit the door told Swann that Campbell had just depleted a cell in one shot.

"Goddamnit, Jack! You could have blown up the desk with that thing!"

"Yeah, but I didn't, now come on!"

Seven of the creatures were already taking the places of the ones that had been vaporized along with the wall. They lunged toward both Swann and Campbell, but Campbell was faster, firing his five short bursts at each of the first five creatures. After that short stop, both of them continued running as fast as they could.

**Delta Labs, Mars City 11.15.2145 0559 hrs**

Hendrix slowly stood up and saw Betruger standing next to a very large creature. The massive size of the creature made bodybuilders look anorexic in comparison. Betruger was talking to it. "Bring me Sergeant Kelly. He'll do nicely." He and the creature walked toward the door. "And once the others have control of Terra, and the Red Faction have contacted the EDF, we'll spread to Earth. This universe shall be ours."

Hendrix couldn't believe what he was hearing. _Red Faction? What's that? And all this about invading Earth? Jesus Christ..._ He ducked back down behind his console and prayed. He prayed for a long time.

**Outside the miner barracks 11.15.2145 0607 hrs**

Parker followed Kane through the tunnels. Dead miners and Ultor guards littered the ground. It was messy. Too many people were dead. Kane didn't see why it was so necessary for some miners to get tormented because they had a few bad dreams. All they wanted to do was work their eight hours and live their lives. _Stupid fucking Ultor_. When he got back to Earth (preferably with Cecily), he was going to knock some heads together.

"Where are we going?"

"The HQ Infirmary. Nobody's shooting any miners there, and maybe we'll get some answers about what's going on."

Something made a noise. Kane raised his assault rifle and Parker brought up his shotgun. The noise repeated moments later. What looked like a light source moved from stalagmite to stalagmite. Kane trained his rifle to the right, where the light had stopped. Nothing happened for a few seconds. A liquid dripped from the ceiling of the cave. Kane looked up and saw it walking across the ceiling. It was humanoid, brown-skinned. It was staring at them with eyes on the back of its head. It tilted its head to show them its mouth, and the eyes kept looking. Kane counted ten in total, all of them glowing orange.

"What the fuck is that?" Parker asked.

The creature tilted back its head further and growled before outright roaring.

"Just shoot the fucking thing!" Kane shouted.

**Mine M-4 11.15.2145 0614 hrs**

Eos and Orion led six other miners through M-4, passing over into M-5. "How close are we?" Orion asked.

"Within ten meters of the junction."

"Hard to believe it's finally coming to fruition."

"Yes, but remember, Orion, we've worked damn hard for this. Those Ultor bastards deserve this."

A radio crackled. _"Eos, Eos! We've got a problem!"_

"What is it, miner?"

Static for a moment, then, _"Monsters! Goddamn monsters! Jesus... does that thing have _legs_? Oh God!"_ and then the radio cut out.

"Miner! Miner! What are you seeing? _Miner_!" She threw the radio at the cave wall. "Fuck!" She turned to Orion. "Take a squad and find out what the hell is going on down there. Mine M-7."

Orion nodded, then pulled two miners from guard duty and stalked down the tunnel.

**Delta Labs, Mars City, 11.15.2145 0625 hrs**

Betruger stood at the massive viewport that looked out across the whole complex. Fireballs from the imps, machinegun bursts from the marines. He saw it all. He felt it through the imps and the others, as well. Few people were seeing some of the larger monsters. The demons were killing a group of Sergeant Kelly's personal guard at the entrance to Delta. Some cacodemons were destroying an Ultor convoy on the way from Terra.

And all of it was beautiful.

"Things are changing, Malcom." Capek's voice resonated through his ears, as all human's voices did now. "Everything you planned is finally coming to fruition."

Betruger smiled. "It is, Dr. Capek." He turned to see Capek standing there with his nanotech shield activated. "You're afraid of me."

"Not you. There's just too much shooting going on out there. I wouldn't want to get shot accidentally before Phase Three is put in place."

"Yes, Phase Three." He waved his hand, and a hell knight appeared at his side. "Go with Dr. Capek. Follow his instructions. Die for him if necessary." The creature grunted in response. "Good boy."

Capek and the knight left. The knight would do as it was told—it could do nothing else. Without a voice to guide them, the creatures' existance was meaningless. With no guidance, the creatures would simply stand there until attacked by something. It was their 'programming'.

_This world is ours, Malcom,_ the voice said. It was right, as well. Mars _was_ theirs. Their focus would then be set on Earth, starting with Sopot City. That stupid fool would see the error of his ways once a legion of hell knights or even simple imps marched to the gates of his fortress.

"Yes, ours," he said aloud. The voice repeated it. There was little left to do now except sit back and wait for the fireworks to run their course.

**Delta Labs, Mars City 11.15.2145 0633 hrs**

Hendrix watched everything through the monitors. Nowhere on Mars City seemed to be safe anymore. He watched as marines everywhere were slaughtered by creatures he couldn't dream of in his worst nightmares. Strange mergers of flesh and machine, odd dog-like animals that sprung around and impaled people with their tails, floating pumpkin-like monsters that spat fire and had mouths the size of a human torso.

The marines were capable of killing one or two at a time, but ten or twenty were coming at them at every turn.

He changed cameras and focused on Dr. Capek walking back to the Mars City-Terra Tramway. One of those big monsters was following him, but it wasn't attacking. It was following his orders. Was Capek working with Betruger? He didn't want to think about that. The two smartest scientific minds on Mars, working together to kill everyone? That was a nightmare scenario like no other.

Hendrix flipped through the other cameras. He couldn't see much beyond people being killed by the monsters. He couldn't see Betruger anywhere. _Where is he?_ he wondered. _Where could he be?_ His self-questions were answered when he walked past the camera that showed Mars City Admin. For a long moment, his back was turned to the camera, but suddenly he turned and looked straight into it. _"Hello, Mr. Hendrix,"_ he said, with a smile, _"I hope you're enjoying the show."_

**Mine M-7 11.15.2145 0642 hrs**

Orion swept his UAS-10 shotgun across the expanse of the M-7 cave. The lights had been taken out by whatever it was that had attacked the miners. "Flashlights," he said in a low voice. In response, two flashlights came on. He turned his own on, and swept the shotgun across the cave again. His light fell on an Ultor guard and a miner, both knelt over another miner. "What's going on?" he asked them as he approached.

The guard grunted, then lifted his head. His envirosuit helmet was broken open. He turned to Orion and stared with blank, dead eyes. His teeth were caked with blood and viscera. The miner stood as well. He, too, looked like some kind of a walking corpse.

One of Orion's escorts screamed. He spun around and saw another guard biting into the man's neck. The man dropped his submachinegun, bathing the area in front of them in darkness. Orion brought up his shotgun and aimed for the guard's chest. It didn't help, however, as the guard simply turned his attention to Orion. He dropped the miner and shambled toward Orion on legs that didn't look as though they could even hold the man upright.

The first guard and the miner grabbed Orion by both arms. The miner sank his teeth into his shoulder. Pain shot straight up Orion's arm, causing him to scream. He kicked at the guard, and shoved the miner away. His other escort stood there in a stupor, almost as if he couldn't figure out what to do. Orion picked up his shotgun and trained it on the guard. "Let's get outta here, blow the entrance," he said to the escort.

Several more miners and guards walked into the limited lighting they had. Orion turned and ran. He'd already been bitten by one of those damned freak, like hell he was going to be killed by one! The escort, however, still seemed to be lost in bewilderment.

The last Orion heard of him was a scream, and sloshy slurping sounds like he was being eaten.

**Ultor HQ 11.15.2145 0650 hrs**

Masako set her USP-16 down on the table. Technician Armitage wasn't complaining about her bitchiness, now. Sarenkov's voice came over her comlink. _"Colonel, we're down in Mine M-7, and some strange things are happening. I request we send out all available mercs, ASAP, ma'am."_

"Negative, Major. We let the Ultor guards take care of this. I'm going to radio silence until I meet up with Dr. Capek once he returns to the colony." Sarenkov tried to give a reply, but she'd already shut off the comlink. Those were Capek's orders: radio silence. She intended to follow them to the best of her abilities, just as she'd followed all of his orders.

A monitor came to life seconds after she'd shut down the comlink. _"My dear Colonel Masako_,_"_ Capek's voice soothed her, _"I'm almost back to Terra. Meet me in my labs, where I have something to give you."_

"Of course, Doctor."

After years of fighting in Kefiristan, Afghanistan, Mozambique, Sopot City and even the back alleys of the United States, Masako finally felt as though she'd met the one man that was willing to do whatever it took to make her happy. That man was Dr. Capek.

**Miner barracks 11.15.2145 0653 hrs**

After their run-in with the ten-eyed creatures, Parker and Kane retreated back into the barracks. Several more of the things had sprung up out of nowhere, and all of them could through fireballs. Parker set his shotgun down on the floor beside his cot. "What the hell do we do now?" he asked.

Kane just shook his head. "Hell if _I_ know. What _can_ we do? Head back into the mines where guards and Red Faction are duking it out?"

"What if those things are all over the base? What it there's _nowhere_ to go?"

"Look, if the UAC can't establish contact with Terra at oh-eight-hundred hours, Mars City sends out a call to the EDF. If the EDF doesn't get a call from Mars City at oh-nine-hundred, they send in a fleet. Either way, the EDF'll get here and take out those monsters _and_ stop this goddamn revolution."

Parker looked up at him. "You against the miners here?"

Kane held up his hands. "Don't turn this into a guard vs. miner thing, okay? I didn't mean it like the miners aren't revolting for a _good_ reason, I just don't see the good in revolting for _any_ reason, unless you've got God on your side."

"So, you don't fight for anything?"

"Usually just a paycheck, and now for my life against these damned things."

"That's cold."

"Cold world. I grew up in poverty, had to make my living somehow."

Parker couldn't say anything. His parents were rich—_he_ was rich, basically. Just because he renounced his private school and caviar upbringing didn't mean he _knew_ what growing up with nothing was like. Even up on Mars, where he was treated like a slave, he didn't really know what it was like _not_ to have a meal to eat three times a day.

A radio buzzed. Kane reached around and pulled it from his belt. "UAC Sec Corporal John Kane, who is this?"

The voice was female. _"Kane? How close are you to Ultor?"_

"As in distance, or relationship-wise?"

"_This is no joke: are you affiliated with Ultor Security?"_

"Only in that I'm a replacement guard who has absolutely no loyalty to Ultor whatsoever. Now, pretty lady, who is this?"

"_This is Eos, leader of the Red Faction."_

"Oh, nice to meet you. Y'know, whatever your demands to Ultor, they're not gonna pay up."

"_We're prepared to fight and die for our equality."_

"You willing to be torn apart by some fucked up monsters that are roaming around in the caves?"

"_That's what I'm calling for. Yours is the only radio in the vicinity that I can reach."_

"Look, Eos—or whatever the hell your name really is—I don't know how you think I can help. I'm just trying to get back to HQ so that I don't have to take part in the slaughter from either side."

"_You'd ignore the miners' plight for your own safety?"_

"I'd ignore my _mother's_ plight for my own safety." Kane switched off his radio. "Jesus... some fucking people."

Parker stood up. "So, you're just gonna ignore her request?"

"Look, man, _real_ chivilrous, going out to help the lady, and all, but I don't wanna get killed just because she asked me."

Parker picked the shotgun back up and grabbed Kane's radio from his hand. "Eos, my name's Parker. I worked in M-4, I'm a miner. What is it you need?" No response came. Was she still alright?

Kane cleared his throught. "You, uh..." he gave a small laugh, "you might wanna turn the radio _on_, lover boy."


	6. Chapter 4 Expanding

_**Chapter Four** – Expanding_

**Mine M-7 11.15.2145 0701 hrs**

As Parker and Kane wandered through the tunnels looking for Orion's team, Kane couldn't help but remember the theme song to an old twentieth century TV show called _The A-Team_. He didn't know why the odd jingle was running through his head, but it was there, nagging him. Just one more complication as they wandered a tunnel filled with dead guards and miners that refused to lie down and be corpses.

He had abandoned his assault rifle, which was difficult to find ammo for in these caves. Few of the dead guards and miners were equipped with them. Instead, he picked up a UAP 32/30, a submachine gun with two different types of ammo—the 12-mm used by the handgun, and the 5.56-mm used by the assault rifle. If any of them had been carrying 5.56 ammo, he'd have just taken that, but all of them were using the 12-mm.

"You know where we are?" he asked Parker.

"Not exactly. I worked in M-4, not a whole lot of cross-polination between miners, y'know? We're all shoved in barracks according to our mine."

"What happens when the minework's done? When the whole shaft is dug and all that?"

Parker scoffed. "I've been working here for two weeks on a mine that was supposed to have been finished two _years_ ago. Ultor's never gonna finish these mines. They wanted to make Terra bigger than Mars City."

A zombie—Kane hated the word, but could find nothing more appropriate in thise case—miner came shambling out of a small shaft that seemed to be unfinished. Most of his envirosuit was torn away, revealling his exposed ribcage. His heart was barely hanging there, only connected by a few stands of flesh. He was holding a shotgun in one hand. Parker raised his own and blew its head clear off. The body fell to the ground, and a pool of blood started to leak from the neck.

Something growled. Something above. Kane looked up and saw one of the ten-eyed creatures. It was cradling a miner's body and chewing on its insides. It didn't seem to have noticed them yet, which he felt was good, but he still didn't like that it was stuck to that wall at all. They passed the creature quietly, and came to a dead end on the opposite side of the cave.

"This isn't right," Parker said, running his hand over the wall.

"What is it?"

"There was a hole here, but it's gone now."

"What?"

"Look, I know this, I was stationed here for about two hours a week ago, and I blasted this hole here—now it's gone." He pulled his hand away from the wall, and some sort of a sticky substance came off on his hand. "Aw, Christ!"

Kane heard something moving in the room with them. "What is that stuff?" he quietly asked.

"Looks like... Some kind of... Nah..."

Kane finished for him as he saw dozens crawl all over the cavern. "Web." He trained his light on the creatures as they crawled over floor, wall and ceiling. They moved over dead bodies, over walking dead bodies and even over the ten-eyed creatures. "Start shootin', Parker!"

They were less than a foot tall, generally. Their legs added height to them. Their bodies seemed almost like severed heads attached upside-down to spider-like bodies. Their spindly legs created a mass of echoing ticking sounds as they spidered their ways over to the two men.

Kane opened up with his submachine gun, taking out at least a dozen, but more kept coming. Parker opened up with his shotgun, but his results were no better. The things were coming too fast. "Parker, got a satchel?" Parker reached into one of his vest pockets after switching the shotgun from pump to auto. He tossed Kane the yellow explosive, about the size of a datapad. Kane smashed it into the wall and shoved Parker out of the way as he grabbed the detonator on Parker's belt. A simple trigger device was all the detonator was, barely the size of a marker. In a second, the webbing-like cover that had closed itself over the hole was gone. "Go, go, go!" Kane shouted, already making a mad dash for the hole. Parker followed closely behind. He took a second bomb from Parker's vest and threw it at the ceiling. A second detonation later, and the hole was covered once more, this time by rubble and debris.

"Fuck," Parker almost whispered. Kane turned to see what he was looking at and saw the webbing, all over the room. There was no part of the room except the rubble and debris behind them that was untouched by the web. More of the little spiders crawled along the floor, the walls and the ceiling. "What now?"

"Remember what I said when the eye-guy showed up?"

"'Just shoot the fucking thing'?"

"Applies here, too."

"Good idea."

**Mine M-7 11.15.2145 0706 hrs**

Orion limped down a shaft and came out at one of Ultor's new underground lakes. He splashed water on his face to keep from going under. Unconsciousness was sneaking up on him, fast. He had no clue what time it was, or where exactly he was. All he knew was that he needed to stay conscious. Help was on the way, had to be. Eos would have sent help the second he didn't check in.

Something growled. He looked around and saw nothing, then four orange lights skittered across the ceiling. He raised his shotgun and tracked the orange lights. They were moving in unison, almost as if they were all attached to one thing. The four lights dropped to the ground in front of him. Two sets of teeth opened in front of him. _What the fuck are you?_ he asked himself. The creature stepped forward. Orion pumped the shotgun and squeezed the trigger.

Nothing.

He pumped again, squeezed again, nothing again. He repeated the cycle. Still, nothing. The creature edged forward. "What the fuck are you?" he repated, aloud this time. The creature took another step forward and made a strange hissing noise, somewhere between an actual hiss and the noise a cicada made. "C'mon, c'mon, you stupid bastard! _Come and get me!_"

Gunshots rang out. A shotgun blast, and submachine gun shots. The creature was dead. A miner and a UAC guard entered the cave. "Jesus Christ, that thing's _ugly_," the UAC man said, lowering the submachine gun. "You Orion?" he said, turning toward Orion.

"Yuh—yeah. Eos send you guys to find me?"

"She did."

The miner kicked at the dead creature. "Fuckin' maggot."

"What?" the UAC asked.

"Looks like a maggot," the miner answered.

The guard walked over to Orion and held out his hand. "John Kane, UAC. He's Parker, God only knows what _his_ first name is. I'm gonna start callin' him 'Crazy' unless he stops talkin' about where holes are and aren't."

Parker stepped forward. "Don't give me that shit, again, Kane. The damn Trites webbed over the holes and closed 'em up."

Kane rolled his eyes. "'Trites' he calls those spiders.

"Can we just get out of here?" Orion asked.

Kane nodded. "Damn right, we can."

**Infirmary 11.15.2145 0713 hrs**

Cecily looked at the burned up creature in front of her and didn't understand how she didn't puke. The Red Faction miner in front of her was holding a towel to his wound. "Goddamn thing..." he whispered. Cecily looked down at the creature again. It was humanoid, with two arms, two legs and one head. It's skin looked like that of a burn victim, so she had a hard time determining whether or not it normally looked like that, or if it had been something the crossfire between the Ultor guards and the Red Faction had done. There were ten eyes on its head, all of which looked stoned.

"Where did this come from?" she asked the Faction member.

"Hell if I know." He stood up and placed his bloody towel over its face. "All I know is that this _thing_ wiped out my squad. I know you're Ultor, doc, but, please—help the Faction if they come through here."

Cecily looked up at the miner. "I took a hypocratic oath to save lives—Red Faction, Ultor, UAC. _Nobody_ is expendable in my book."

He nodded. "Thanks, doc."

She turned to the other doctors and nurses in the room. "We're going to need all the medical equipment we have, understand?" She looked back down at the creature. "And get this thing out of my hospital."

**Ultor HQ, lobby 11.15.2145 0718 hrs**

Captain Tracy didn't like it when worthless miners put up a better fight than Sopot City's best troops. He'd lost three men in the last half-hour alone. He raised his assault rifle and popped three rounds into the nearest Faction fool and dropped him right on his back. Another one raised his shotgun, but had it shot out of his hand by Lieutenant Soren. _Let's see how they like it when they die for their cause._

A miner that had been shot in the heart stood up again. He grabbed his nearest friend and tried to shove his face into the man's shoulder. Tracy watched with interest—what was wrong with the man? He turned to order his men to stop firing and saw that Lieutenant Soren had taken a shotgun blast to his chest. He, too, was again standing. His helmet was off, unlike the Faction member.

Tracy didn't waste time. He drew his handgun and put the barrel straight to the corpse's forehead. He squeezed the trigger, and the body went down again. He looked around and saw several more of his men—and several miners—losing a battle with walking corpses.

He didn't even think. He simply backed away and slipped out of the room quickly. He needed to report this to Colonel Masako, otherwise she and her mercs might run into these freaks and die.

**Outside Mars City Admin 11.15.2145 0723 hrs**

Sergeant Kelly kept spraying submachine gun bullets into the odd pumpkin-shaped monster that was floating toward them. Sixty rounds later, he ran dry, so he ducked behind the car, popped the magazine and loaded another as quickly as possible. To his left was Lieutenant Campbell, and to his right was Councilor Swann. As Campbell fired away with his BFG, Swann simply cowered at the sight of the creatures.

"Campbell," he turned to the soldier, "do you see any break in their ranks?"

Campbell shook his head. "Not a damn one." He pulled back and loaded another cell into his BFG. "And something else is comin' too."

"What is?"

Kelly's question was answered almost immediately. The car they were taking cover behind was lifted up into the air, and something that could only be described as the combination of a dinosaur and a load-lifter stood there, staring down at them with a face that was nothing but a television monitor, the image on that monitor being the type of scary face a child would draw.

"Fuck me!" Swann shouted.

Campbell held down the trigger on his BFG and fired the whole cell into the creature's chest. It was blown back, hitting the airlock of the building on the other side of the field. "Go, go go!" Campbell shouted, quickly ejecting the now-depleted cell and loading another.

Kelly ran, alongside Campbell and Swann. As he ran, he aimed his submachine gun at the enemy behind him and blind fired. He knew he hit at least a few of them, as they made the strange squeal that signified their deaths.

"Where are we going, Campbell?" he asked.

Campbell spun around, still running, and fired off a shot of BFG. "Beats the fuck outta me, just away from these bastards and back inside a building!"

Kelly saw one of the dead men standing in the doorway leading back to Mars City Admin. He didn't even stop, he just pushed the bastard out of the way, knocking both himself and the zombie to the ground. He stuck the barrel of his submachine gun right to the zombie's temple and squeezed. Blood and grey matter spilled across the floor.

Campbell reached the door next, and after Swann got in, he fired off another shot of his BFG. After that, the airlock shut and cycled. After they walked back into Admin, Swann caught his breath and said, "We seem to be at an impasse here," he looked up at the two soldiers, "maybe we should compromise."

Kelly shook his head. "Yeah, open the door and let them come eat us?"

Swann glared. "No. We tried it _your_ way, we tried calling the EDF. Now, we should just wait it out."

"Wait until they cut through every door, turn over every table, rip apart every desk and just _kill us_? _That_ is your idea of a _plan_?"

"Yours was to summon the EDF, where they could possibly be taken out and those monstrosities could take their ships and go after Earth. Who's plan is _smarter_, Sergeant?"

Campbell stood between them. "Now, now, gentlemen. _Both_ plans have merit. After a certain amount of time, the EDF will be here _anyway_. What we need to do is kill enough of these sons of bitches that the EDF can simply take out the rest."

**Mars City Admin 11.15.2145 0729 hrs**

Betruger watched through the eyes of his Trite. It saw Kelly, Swann and Campbell as they planned and plotted. Plotted his downfall, but planned his rise. They had no idea just how much they'd caused their own destruction. Yes, the EDF would be there _eventually_. But he'd go out of his way. He'd contact the EDF himself.

"Oh, this will be _so_ fun."

**Ultor HQ lobby 11.15.2145 0734 hrs**

Captain Tracy slipped down into a vent and held his assault rifle close. Something else was in the small tunnel with him. He aimed down the sights and watched as something scurried down another part of the shaft. "Come out, you little bastard..." he whispered.

The creature must have heard him, because it moved backward, slipping into his part of the vent shaft. He saw it now: it was small, about the size and shape of a baby. It's hands were razor sharp talons, wings extended from its back and it had no legs. It pulled its head back and screeched, a shrill, head-splitting noise. Suddenly, four or five more of the creatures joined the first. Tracy's eyes widened in fear as the monsters came at him.

He collected himself quickly enough to start spray-firing his assault rifle. Two of them went down in seconds, while the others closed the distance in those very seconds. One of them got right in his face and used its talons, putting a scar from his hairline, across his right eye and his nose, and down to his lower lip. He pushed the creature away and tried to stop the bleeding. Using his one good eye, he kept spray-firing and took out the last three monsters.

His luck had run out, however. Something reached through the floor, through the vent wall, and picked him up. He saw Dr. Capek, the old bastard, floating just above the corpses of the undead monsters. The creature that had picked him up was seven feet tall, covered in grey flesh. Its eyes were small and solid black.

"Put him down. He won't survive the hour," Capek ordered. "Captain... Tracy, correct?"

"What the fuck have you _done_, Capek?"

Capek smiled. "Dr. Betruger and I have made deals—deals which will affect the entire human race. I'm sure you understand your place is to die, Captain."

The monster dropped Tracy, who stared up at it with his one good eye. He drew his handgun and shot the creature in the head. It simply looked down at him, then at Capek, then back at Tracy. "Go ahead," Capek said, "kill him." The monster picked Tracy back up, by the head, and then an unimaginable heat emminated from its hand. Tracy lost sight in his other eye, then feeling completely drained from his face. It took only seconds for him to die.

**Infirmary 11.15.2145 0742 hrs**

Cecily cut into the miner, who thrashed forcefully. "Get him sedated, goddamnit! I need to cut the... the... whatever the hell this thing is out of him!" The creature that had burrowed itself into the miner was making it difficult. As it moved, the miner thrashed. One of her nurses injected a sedative into the miner's neck, but it didn't take effect.

"He's rejecting it!" the nurse shouted.

"Keep pumping it into him! I need him steady!"

The miner pushed Cecily back, into the IV that was providing blood for a guard. The miner jumped off of the table and grabbed Cecily by the neck. "Get it the fuck out of me, doc!" he slurred. At least, that was what she thought he said, it was difficult to tell.

"Get him off of me!"

A shotgun blast disintigrated the miner's head. Blood flew everywhere, covering the IV, the dying guard, Cecily's nurse and Cecily herself. The creature jumped out of the miner, and landed on the wall, but it was destroyed by submachine gun bullets that peppered the wall.

"Cecily!" Kane's voice shouted. He helped her to her feet. He certainly looked like hell. Two other miners—one very serious looking—stood behind him. "You okay?"

"John... What the _fuck_ was that?"

Kane didn't say anything for a few moments. After that, he sputtered out a laugh. "God_damn_, woman, do you have a way with words."


End file.
